2015 Barcelona Test 2
Nico Rosberg 1:22.792 (Day 2)}} The Second 2015 Barcelona Test was the third official test session of the 2015 Formula One season. It took place between February 26 and March 1, 2015 over four days. The circuit is the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. and did not attend the test. Fernando Alonso did not take part after a crash on the final day of the first Barcelona test. Kevin Magnussen, a test and reserve driver of , took over. first used the Force India VJM08 when it arrived at the circuit on the second day. Driver running order Overview Report Day 1 once again had a day full of problems when Jenson Button's car received a hydraulic leak after he completed seven laps. The time required to change the car's power unit meant that the team could not run again for the day. There was also a mechanical problem for , when the MGU-K on Lewis Hamilton's car failed, forcing him to miss the afternoon session with the third fastest time at the end. He explained: "I don't think it's dented anything. Testing is difficult. Of course, if you can have the whole day and it's sunny and the tyres are working every time you can go out and do tons and tons of changes and learn things about where you want to put the car. So, naturally, that is what we are missing." Only a few minutes after the morning session began, Daniil Kvyat's car stopped in the pit lane, bringing out the red flags. He was fourth fastest ahead of Romain Grosjean, the fastest driver from the previous Barcelona test. added radical revisions such as a new front nose to their STR10 car. Carlos Sainz, Jr. made the red flags come out a second time when his car stopped at Turn 10. He was, however, able to take part in the final 30 minutes of the session, setting the seventh fastest time. Because the VJM08 car would not arrive in Barcelona until the second day, did not attend on the first day. The fastest time, 1:23.500, was set by ' driver Felipe Massa, who was 0.776 seconds faster than 's Marcus Ericsson. Speaking afterwards, Massa said: "I think we needed to prove that we are there in the fight, we don't know how much with Mercedes, but to the others I think we are there. I am pretty happy, but it is still early." Day 2 For the first time, Force India's VJM08 car was used, but in the afternoon session. Nico Hülkenberg, who drove for the team on the second day, was ninth fastest with 77 laps. McLaren were more successful when Button completed 101 laps and set the fifth fastest time, although his car came to a halt between Turns 7 and 8 soon before the end of the session, bringing out the red flags. Kvyat was eighth in the results, following a hydraulic sensor issue to which Red Bull instructed him to stop while on track, causing the first stoppage. Max Verstappen had his running cut slightly short when his car suffered from an electrical problem after getting the seventh fastest time. He said: "Another good day as we did a lot of laps. From my perspective, the most important part was this afternoon's race distance, when the pace looked very promising. It was my first time driving the car with the latest updates and they seemed to be working very well and I felt very comfortable with it." The final red flag came out a few minutes before the end of the session when Pastor Maldonado came to a halt at the end of the pit lane. Nico Rosberg brought Mercedes back to the top with a time of 1:22.792, 1.203 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas. He said afterwards: "We are confident that we have a good car because we have a great team at the moment, but at the same time we are also well aware that the others have been posting some quick times and keep working. Today was a difficult day because even though all the numbers looked like they were in the right place in the set up, actually the set up was very, very far away from where it needed to be and we don’t really understand that." Day 3 Kevin Magnussen drove for McLaren on the third day, getting the eighth fastest time of 1:25.225, but his run ended early when his car suffered an oil leak after completing 39 laps. Only two red-flag stoppages occurred in the sessions, both in the last hour when Ericsson and Sainz, Jr.'s cars came to a stop at Turn 3 at different times. Sainz was fourth fastest, while Ericsson was sixth, with Grosjean's time between them. Hülkenberg was able to set the seventh fastest time of 1:24.939 and complete 158 laps in Force India's VJM08. Daniel Ricciardo was the slowest of all the drivers. Räikkönen was able to complete a full race simulation for Ferrari for the first time in the 2015 pre-season, getting the third fastest time of 1:23.276. Despite not reaching 100 laps and setting a time quicker than Rosberg, Hamilton set the fastest time of 1:23.022, 0.24 seconds ahead of Massa, after Mercedes did "experimental" set-up changes to his car for four hours going through the lunch break. Hamilton said afterwards: "It wasn't a spectacular day. The track seemed to have lost some grip to the last two days so it wasn't the best in terms of feeling but we got some running done and I feel good in the car." Day 4 The final day of the final pre-season testing still gave technical problems to McLaren, where Button could only do two untimed laps in the morning session before the car's power unit had to be removed due to a sensor problem. Completing only 30 laps in the afternoon session, Button set the eighth fastest time ahead of Maldonado, who had his day cut short when he crashed into the barriers at Turn 4. Lotus believed that the accident was caused by an issue from the system compromising his braking. Also having problems were Toro Rosso whom were required to complete an engine change.FORMULA 1. (2015, March 13). Barcelona Winter Testing 2015 Wrap-up. file. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMKKu6ZYxXY However the efficient work of the mechanics saw a new engine be installed within the car in a mere two hours. Verstappen, whilst waiting to return to track chatted with Peter Windsor. When asked about what the new super softs were like, Verstappen simply replied, "super soft." Sergio Pérez was able to complete 130 laps in his first use of the VJM08, and get into sixth place in the results of the fourth day. Ricciardo finished fifth with 72 laps after an KERS issue stopped him at the end of the pit lane following the first hour of the session, forcing him to stay in Red Bull's pit garage for most of the morning. Verstappen's driving was also interrupted when his car received an engine issue midway through the afternoon, but he managed to get back out before the chequered flag and get the fourth fastest time. Bottas set the fastest time of 1:23.063 ahead of Vettel and Nasr, saying afterwards: "It was a really good day and a great way to finish the test. One of the main points we have learnt is that the FW37 is very reliable. The car we are taking to Melbourne is very competitive and should make for an interesting start to the season." Despite being seventh, Rosberg said afterwards that "I'm pleased with the winter but that's not to say that the others aren't quick. It's a challenge to get these cars perfect and it is still a big challenge because we are so early in the season." Although he hadn't got the car absolutely perfect, Windsor noted, "There was a smile on his laps as he looked forward to Australia." Peter Windsor commented "Pre-season F1 has drawn to a close with another of those Mercedes, Nico Rosberg classic days. 150 laps, not even running the soft tyre, making all the opposition wonder how quick they are as they accruing more and more miles." Mercedes looked the favourite again, however heading into Melbourne there was still a mystery to the true pace of Red Bull. Ferrari had also made positive progress in their team after a dismal season the previous year. Sauber had made impressive progress to which they looked capable of moving beyond their position as Formula One's ninth best team. Best times By day By driver Most laps by a driver: Felipe Nasr ( ), 300. Most laps by a team: , 545. Most laps in a day: Felipe Nasr ( ), 159 (day 4). Times Day One, 26 February Source: Day Two, 27 February Source: Day Three, 28 February Source: Day Four, 1 March Source: Notes Category:Pre-season testing Category:2015 Formula One Season